Get Rid of Shoulder Tightness: PhysioFrog’s Shoulder Mobility Exercises

 Whether you’re stacking boxes or swinging a bat, your shoulders are constantly engaged. However, unlike other muscles, we seem to neglect the need to prepare and cool down these muscles in-and-around our activities. In the long term, we tend to pay with stiff and uncomfortable shoulders, increasing our risk of acute injury. Therefore, in this article, we’ll explore the essential shoulder mobility exercises designed to enhance mobility, alleviate stiffness, and reduce injury risk.

Shoulder Exercises

Here are some exercises to consider incorporating into your routines to eliminate discomfort and reduce injury risk.

Arm Circles – Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and extend your arms to the sides. Begin making small circles with your arms, gradually increasing the size of the circles. After 20 seconds, reverse the direction. This exercise engages the shoulder joints, promoting blood flow and serving as a warm-up.

Wall Angels – Stand with your back against a wall, and your feet about 6 inches away from the wall. Raise your arms to shoulder height with your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle, forming a ‘W’ shape. Slowly slide your arms up the wall, maintaining contact with your elbows and hands. You should then lower them back down. Wall angels engage the muscles surrounding the shoulder blades, promoting flexibility and strength.

Shoulder Dislocations – Don’t worry – this exercise is safe! With a wide grip, hold a resistance band or towel in front of you. Keep your arms straight as you lift the band overhead and then lower it behind your back. This is exercise focuses on improving shoulder mobility.

Rotator Cuff Exercises – Attach a resistance band to a fixed point and position your arm at your side. Rotate your arm inward against the resistance for internal rotation. For external rotation, secure the band and rotate your arm outward. This exercise will target your rotator cuff muscles; these are responsible for shoulder stability and mobility.

Cross-Body Arm Stretch – Bring your right arm across your chest, using your left hand to gently pull it closer to your body. Hold the stretch for 15-30 seconds, feeling the gentle pull across the shoulder. The cross-body arm stretch aids in improving flexibility and reducing tension in the shoulders.

Neck Release Stretch – Gently tilt your head to one side, bringing your ear towards your shoulder. Hold for 30 seconds, feeling the stretch along the side of your neck and shoulder. This exercise helps release tension in the neck and shoulders, promoting overall upper-body flexibility.

Conclusion

The above shoulder mobility exercises provide you with the foundations for a comprehensive shoulder routine, ensuring upper body feels fluid and strong. These exercises should be performed in-and-around your physical activity – whether that is in the morning before work, or before gym. For 3D muscle-body animations that portray some of these exercises with recommended intensities and reps, join the PhysioFrog community down at physiofrog.io!